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[embraceyourhell]

Alex Shepherd hasn't had a very good day today. He's been fighting monsters, figuring out what happened to his home town, and being betrayed by some people he used to know. He's also just recently learned that he killed his younger brother; granted it was an accident, but still. But, he's made his amends to his brother, and all he wanted to do

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[duat_die]

Cwirko had been moving to intercept this guy anyway. Sure, he hadn't planned on running straight into the guy, but apparently one of them doesn't watch where they're turning. He holds up both hands to indicate that he's harmless - not quite true, as he's got a weapon concealed under the coat he found in the Kashtta's storerooms - but he's not planning on attacking anyone unless they attack first, and would prefer to avoid that, too.

"Lemme guess," he says, keeping his voice low and calm. "You were somewhere else a second ago, and all of a sudden, lovely Chicago's staring you in the face. You're gonna want to keep your voice down."

[embraceyourhell]

Don't worry, Cwirko, Alex isn't exactly unarmed himself. He's got a few weapons underneath his clothes, mostly for killing all those creatures. He's going to have to do something with them, but that's not the issue at hand now.

"Yeah, and Chicago?" Alex asks. He wants to ask what the fuck is going on, but that might make him loud. "Right, know how I can get back?" he asks, his voice low.

[duat_die]

"Well, that's the question," Cwirko says, stepping back to a companionable distance and glancing around. No one looks overtly hostile - then again, his major strength is in making himself invisible to hostiles, not picking them out of a crowd or defusing whatever situations they might think to present. "No one I've talked to knows a way. Yet. All I know is that there are people here who don't take kindly to people who show up uninvited."

[embraceyourhell]

And upon hearing those words, Alex's face falls a bit. It's not that he's absolutely dying to go home, but he wanted the chance to pack his shit, and go somewhere he wanted to go. He wanted to start anew somewhere else, and this isn't what he had in mind.

"Yeah, well, kind of hard not to show up when someone shoves you through the door," Alex answers back.

He's now nervous though, and looks around before looking back at this guy. "These people have a name?" he asks.

[smithnjones]

Martha Jones is far too used to people coming in from other universes and landing in this one. She has given the speech enough times that she has half considered creating pamphlets and handing those to newcomers as she leads them to the Tower.

However, there is a level of impersonality that comes with a pamphlet, and she is not comfortable with it so there are no pamphlets. There are just the same words over and over, given by her face and not a piece of paper.

Not that she knows that the man who bumps into her is new to the universe. Not yet.

He bumps into her, and she takes a step back and looks up at his face with a small smile. "It's alright. Sidewalks are always a bit on the busy side, yeah?" A second later, she has taken in the nervousness with which he worded his apology. "Are... you alright?"

[embraceyourhell]

At least she's not freaking out, and that in turn sort of calms Alex's nerves. Of course he tells himself that he really needs to watch where he's going, and stop bumping into people. So far he's been lucky, but it might not be long before he collides with someone who isn't so friendly.

"Yeah, they really are," Alex answers back. He's not used to busy sidewalks though, and looks just slightly bewildered.

"Oh yeah, I'm good," he says with a smile. "But, hey, umm, I kind of just moved here, and I was wondering if you could give me the name of a cheap hotel?" he was going to ask her about the job situation, but he figures he can look that up later.

[smithnjones]

Martha can sense that he is more calm than he had been which is good. If he is new to the city, it makes sense that he would be nervous but she wonders, as she wonders with every new person that she comes across who is clearly new to these sidewalks as well.

"I know a few," she says quietly as she looks at him, studying his features and the expression on his face. There isn't much to read in it as he is calmer than he was. It won't stop her from asking. Just in case. "This might sound insane, and I'm perfectly fine with that as it's important for me to ask, but have you been planning to move here or did you... just sort of show up against your will?"

[embraceyourhell]

"Hey, that's great!" he exclaims with a hint of relief in his voice. This, however is quickly replaced by a slight expression of worry when he hears her next question.

He looks at her face trying to read her, but unfortunately he's never been all that good at doing it.

"Okay, so I showed up here without wanting to. Look, I don't want any trouble, so I'll make my way out of this city tomorrow," of course he doesn't know that he won't be able to get out of this realm, but that won't stop him from trying.

[yourwonderings]

Jo was out on a patrol, fighting monsters Rift-style.

She was on her way back to the Kashtta when she heard Alex. She's got the mouth of a sailor, this one, so she's not too fazed by the cursing. She's about to approach him when he bumps into her instead. She places a hand on his arm to keep them both upright.

"Easy there." Jo takes a step back and lifts her arms up. She's not there to do anything but help, though one wouldn't immediately assume she's anything but harmless. "You lost?"

[embraceyourhell]

Silently Alex is cursing at himself. This is what? The third person he's bumped into on accident? He decides he's going to blame his bad leg for it. "Woah, sorry, sorry," he says to her. "Well, I gather that I'm in Chicago, and," he pauses. "You been here long? Born and raised here?" he decides to ask.

For all he knows, Jo could be one of those natives that's not at all happy with people like him coming into this realm.

[yourwonderings]

"Been here since April. Might not seem long to some, but it's been one helluva long time for me," Jo's quick to answer, and hey, Alex, anybody that's had their world turned upside down like this might not be watching where they're going. Jo's iron knife is tucked back into her boot strap, and she shakes her head in response.

"It's fine. Look, it's gonna sound weird and you're gonna look at me like I belong in a straitjacket but you fell through somethin' called a Rift."

[embraceyourhell]

"Wow, since April, and it's what date now?" he asks, because back at home it was October 17th, 2008. He's going to be just a little bewildered that he's now in the year 2010.

He scratches his leg, reminds himself that he really needs to change the bandages on the thing. Maybe he should go to a hospital, but those cost money, and other things that Alex doesn't have.

"Yeah, someone told me," he says, shaking his head, he exhales, "Still think it's a load of bullshit personally."